Introduction: How to Make a Duct Tape Wallet With Hidden Pockets and a Zelda Logo

Items you'll need:
A ruler
Exacto knife
Clear tape
Scissors
and a card for getting the pockets right

You'll start with 8 strips of tape at least 7 inches long each. They don't need to be exactly the same size
The 8th one can go glue side down to start.
Then place 3 more glue side down with just a small amount of overlap. About 3/8ths of an inch or so
Once these are in place, peel them off the table and make sure they don't get stuck together like mine did. What a pain in the butt.

Now start the other side by placing a strip with it's bottom lined up with the middle. This will be where the wallet folds.
Put a second strip above it, then put the last two strips underneath it.
Make sure to leave a small gap in the middle so that it all folds together nicely and
make sure that the top two pieces and the bottom two pieces overlap just a bit.

Fold over any pieces that are hanging over the top or bottom edge.

Square off your material with a ruler and exacto knife. I'm using the lines on my pad to get a nice 90 degree angle

Trim all 4 sides as close to your edges as possible. We'll size them next.

From one side mark out 7 inches (or however long you want your wallet to be)
Then mark the other side.
And cut your wallet to length.

Next measure 3 inches from the middle. This will be the size of the inside flap.
Mark both sides and cut

Next fold the wallet in half and cut the outside flap. This should be about a quarter inch bigger so that you have a nice lip to open your wallet with.

Crease it in the middle so it will fold nice.

It's time for the hidden pockets. Take 2 pieces of duct tape at least 3 1/2" wide and put them together as before.
Flip this over and put 2 more on the other side to make your first hidden pocket.

Square and trim.

I used my folded wallet and some scissors to mark where this should be cut to size.
And then I cut it. What a surprise!

Make 2 of these. One for each side.

It's pockets time!
You'll only need one strip of duct tape for each side of the pocket. And since I wanted three pockets on each side, you'll need 6 of them.

I stacked them all together so I could cut them all at the same time using my hidden pocket to figure out their width.

Place the 3 pockets on your hidden pocket piece and use your sample card to make sure that they're lined up correctly.

Place all four pieces on the inside flap and cut a strip of duct tape long enough to go down the side. Should be 3 inches. Cut this piece in half lengthways.

Tape the right side of the pockets so that only about a quarter inch is on the inside. Fold the rest over the pockets and wallet together.

Repeat the exact same procedure, but for the left side. So that both hidden pockets are attached.

Cut another piece of tape about 3 inches long and cut in half longways.

These 2 pieces will go on the other sides of the hidden pockets. This will secure the 3 smaller pockets in place.

Cut another piece of tape that is as long as your wallet in half lengthwise.
This will hold the top of your 2 hidden pockets in place.
Fold it over the edge and cut off extra length with scissors.

Take the other half of that tape and use it to secure the bottom of the hidden pockets folding the excess over the edges.

Next split a piece of tape for the sides. Make sure your wallet is folded in half, and tape both sides together.

You may need a strip for the outside flap depending on how you started your original piece of material. It should just fold on the inside.

And that's all you "need".
Personally it was too plain, and not nerdy enough for me, so I found a zelda pattern, and cut it out of 2 more strips of yellow tape.
I'm pretty pleased with how that turned out.

Lastly I used 2 strips of tape to ensure that my emblem doesn't accidentally get peeled off, and voila! One zelda duct tape wallet!

Comments

One thing I would like to point out as someone who has made a duct tape checkbook wallet and used it for about 3-4 years before it started falling apart is that it is a good idea to line the inside of the wallet, particularly where you keep credit cards and library cards etc.. with a material that is non-duct tape and the reason for this is that after a while of heavy use in a working person's back pocket the sticky aspect of the duct tape bleeds out and will leave a residue that is hard to get off your various cards. I learned this the hard way. So I would recommend cutting out some plastic from a zip lock bag or something to line the inside of the duct tape wallet. Maybe one of these days I will get around to uploading my design.

Thanks very much. It really didn't take all that long to put together (At least compared to some of the things I made) I think I had it all done in about 1 1/2 hours. If I made another one, it'd probably go quicker.

I appreciate the vote of such a distinguished individual. Your avatar is awesome.